A $65 million renovation at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., is now complete. Each of the golf resort's 23 meeting rooms, including the 10,000-square-foot PGA Ballroom, have been renovated, floor to ceiling. Meeting and event space now totals 39,000 square feet, all with wireless Internet and ergonomic seating. The new 5,000-square-foot outdoor Honda Pavilion features views of a new free-form pool, a 26-acre lake, and the Champion golf course. There are also two new ballrooms: Bella Vista and Bella Lago. The resort has 379 guest rooms and 40 two-bedroom cottages, five golf courses, and a 40,000-square-foot spa. Dedicated event planners are available on site to keep your event running smoothly. The resort recently was awarded the “Two Palm” Green Lodging designation by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Venue Updates

Golf News

The Resort at The Mountain
Welches, Ore.

The News: On the western slope of Mount Hood, The Resort has completed $1.5 million in upgrades and improvements to Foxglove Nine, part of the 27-hole The Courses golf cub, which is undergoing a $3.7 million renovation.

Specs: The Resort features 18,000 square feet of meeting space, and 157 guest rooms and suites. The facility is now undergoing a $17 million renovation and expansion, to conclude by the end of this year.

Arizona Grand Resort
Phoenix

The News: The resort is completing a $52 million renovation. Its 18-hole championship golf course was recently redesigned.

Specs: 640 all-suite accommodations, 117,000 square feet of meeting space, a 20,000-square-foot athletic club and spa, a waterpark, six pools, and five restaurants

Westin Princeville OceanResort Villas
Kauai, Hawaii

The News: The property opened in April 2008 on Kauai's north shore.

Specs: The resort features 173 two-bedroom villas, four pools, three whirlpools, a two-story clubhouse, a restaurant, a general store, and a fitness center.

Extra: Bordering the property are two championship golf courses, The Prince and The Makai.

Mardan Palace Hotel
Antalya, Turkey

The News: A Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course is scheduled to open in 2010 at the resort, which is in the area known as the “Turkish Riviera.” It will be the 10th championship course to begin operations in the area since 2005.

Specs: The $1.4 billion Mardan Palace opened in early June with 560 rooms. There are two grand ballrooms and 15 meeting rooms. Dolmabahçe Ballroom can seat 1,200 attendees.

Extras: The area is known for its pine and eucalyptus forests, beautiful beaches, lakes, rivers and grasslands. Other courses in Antalya include Papillon Golf Club, a $100 million golf and resort complex with a Colin Montgomerie-designed 18-hole, par-72 course. The 27-hole Lykia Links, designed by Pete Dye, is the first links-style course in the area.

Spa Update

Gansevoort South Hotel, Spa and Residences
Miami Beach

The News: Opened in November 2008 at the north end of Collins Avenue

Specs: Gansevoort has 334 guest rooms; a 6,6000-square-foot ballroom and six meeting rooms; a rooftop pool and a second infinity-edge pool; the 45,000-square-foot DavidBarton Gym+Spa; and the East Coast's longest seamless shark tank, with 27 types of sharks and fish, that spans 50 feet of the lobby.

Extra: 600 feet of beachfront. The beach club can host 1,000 people.

Terranea Resort
Palos Verdes, Calif.

The News: The oceanfront resort, at the tip of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, opened in June.

Specs: Managed by Destination Hotels & Resorts, the 582-room property has 60,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, including the 18,000-square-foot Palos Verdes Grand Ballroom and the 6,600-square-foot Marineland Ballroom. Also on site: 75,000 square feet of outdoor event space, three swimming pools, and a 25,000-square-foot spa.

Extra: The on-site Links at Terranea is a 9-hole, par-3 oceanfront course.The Trump National Golf Course is just three miles away.

News Makers:

• Scott Russell has been named VP, sales and marketing, at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Destin, Fla. Russell was for 18 years VP of sales and marketing for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co.'s Caribbean and Mexico properties.

• The Don CeSar Beach Resort, a Loews Hotel in St. Pete Beach, Fla., has appointed Cindy Lew as director of marketing. Lew previously served as the director of marketing at the Loews Denver Hotel.